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$page->title = 'Budgeting in a way that honors God';
$page->date = '2014-02-01';
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$page->blurb = 'Budgeting in a way that honors God and furthers His kingdom.';

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<p>Dear NRHC Family,</p>

<p>Hope you not only survived the winter weather this week but also got to enjoy it with your family. Our family had a
blast sledding with about 20 kids and their families in our neighborhood. Only busted a few times and no broken bones or
scars to show for it! But man, my back hurts!</p>

<p>I mentioned in last Sunday's message that I would send you the final question and answer via the eNews. The final
question: How do we determine our budget in a way that honors God and furthers His kingdom?</p>

<p><strong>There are 3 big words for you to think about as you consider your budget: Give, Save, Live.</strong> And yes,
they are in order. Our culture often reverses that order - live how you want, then save a little if you can,
and,finally, give if there is any leftover. In God's kingdom, the priorities are reversed - We give first, save second,
and live third.</p>

<p><strong>First priority: Give.</strong> The goal is not a specific percentage, but giving that is cheerful, generous,
and sacrificial (2 Corinthians 9). As we said in the series, it seems that generosity begins at 10%, but it doesn't stop
at 10%. Give your first and best gift to your local church and then give to other opportunities as God leads you.</p>

<p><strong>Second priority: Save.</strong> There are at least 3 areas of savings - emergency fund, major purchases, and
retirement. With an emergency fund, your goal is to have cash available to use in the event of an emergency. Emergencies
happen; be prepared! Start with saving $1000 and eventually you will want 3-6 months of living expenses saved.
Additionally, you will want to save for major purchases like cars, weddings, etc. And, you will want to save for
retirement.</p>

<p><strong>Third priority: Live.</strong> Give every single dollar a name. Tell it where to go. Pay your bills and buy
necessities first - electricity, food, gas, home, clothing, etc.  Then, pay down debt using the debt snowball idea.
Finally, wisely budget out the remainder based on your family's needs.</p>

<p>I highly recommend <strong>Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover</strong> as an excellent resource to help you. Also,
check out <a href="http://www.josephsangl.com/" target="_blank">joesangl.com</a> - Joe is very similar to Dave Ramsey
and lives here in South Carolina. He has a ton of free resources on his website and a great blog that will encourage and
help you.</p>

<p>I just found this week a series of videos that Joe did for NewSpring Church on how to follow God's plan for money.
They are short and very helpful. You can find them here: <a href="http://newspring.cc/changemyfinances"
target="_blank">http://newspring.cc/changemyfinances</a>. Also, we have some people in the NRHC family who have offered
to provide coaching to people who need it and we are working on some options for offering Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace
University class in the future. If you need help, please let us know!</p>

<p>I said it on Sunday and I will say it again - <strong>if we all followed this plan, it would be a game-changer for
NRHC</strong>. I get very, very excited thinking about all God could do in us and through us if we all committed to this
plan. Let's do it church, and let's see together how God might use this faith family to change the world.</p>

<p>Sunday will be awesome as we cast vision for planting The Village Church and you get to hear more from Jay Wright.
I'll see you then!</p>

<p>Until All Hear,<br> Jay</p>
